Love & Monsters
by SaphiraStark
Summary: The Asylum's new psychiatrist volunteers to guide Dr. Crane through his rehabilitation.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Batman, or any of its characters; only the one's I've created myself.

Author's note: This is the first story I've ever published, so feedback is more than welcome!

CHAPTER ONE

"She's brand new to Arkham, and fresh out of college so try not to ruin her completely." The guard standing at Crane's cell's door had just explained to him he would be getting his own 'personal doctor' to help him through every last miserable bit of his rehabilitation and she would be accompanying him for the majority of each day. What were they thinking throwing the new girl into the fire like that? Anyone who had prolonged contact with Crane was destined to end up in either in a straight jacket, or quite simply just dead.

"I'll do my best." He smirked, aware that he'd never follow through with the hollow promise. And anyway, what did the guard care? She couldn't have important to him; he couldn't even remember her name.

"You're lucky, doctor. You've got the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my life as your own personal caretaker."Of course… Just a bit of feminine charm and you've got the Asylum's strongest, toughest guard keeping you safe. Unfortunately for her, he had never found any girl to be 'attractive', therefore, charm and good looks would not save her from her inevitable, predictable fate. "And here she comes. Play nice." Crane couldn't help but roll his eyes as he sat impatiently at the table they had put in the corner of his cell. 'We can't trust you to leave your cell for conferences, so we'll put the table in your room'. That's the gist of what they had said to him. But what's the point in conferences if he's going to be spending most of his life with the woman anyway? And being thankful for having someone willing to take care of him? The only thing at this point he could be thankful for was that they had allowed him out of the straight jacket and into a tee shirt and jeans; all he had to do was wear handcuffs when he was around other people, which basically would just be his psychiatrist. And speaking of the woman... as she walked into the room and sat down at the other side of the table, he couldn't help but stare a little. Her ice blue eyes, just like his, but somehow so enchanting and... Breath taking. Her long, perfect brown hair, and red lips... What was coming over him? Some strange feeling he had never experienced before. It angered him that he understand the feeling and he glared icily at her.

"Hello, Dr. Crane. I'm Dr. Saphira Stark and I will be you're- umm, psychiatrist, until you get better." Nervousness was understandable. He WAS her first patient, and a bad first patient to boot; but it was still a weakness, and weakness would not be tolerated.

"Yes, I heard." His glare shifted back to his usual, unreadable look that drove everyone insane, simply because no matter what they did to or for him, he wouldn't show any sort of emotion whatsoever. She would have to get used to this look if she wanted to survive her first week with him.

"Good, then we can get started. May I ask you a few questions about yourself to begin with?" Same mundane routine; should've expected that much. At least the guard was gone for once and now he didn't have a man standing there watching his every move, almost seeming like he wanted him to do something bad just so he could actually DO something for a change. He could definitely get used to that.

"Ask away." He didn't feel like talking much, but he would do what he had to. She nodded and opened her briefcase, pulling out a small stack of papers and a pen before closing it back up again.

"First question: what drove you to commit the crimes that led you to this cell? Did it have to do with something that happened during your childhood, or perhaps more recent?" Well, at least she was blunt about things; that was more than he could say about any other psychiatrist he had ever known.

"I believe that was more than one question." He pointed out matter-of-factly. She simply sighed and looked down at her papers.

"Then answer them one at a time." Her voice had flattened slightly; a signal for him to just go along with it, which he would... for now.

"What 'drove me to commit the crimes that led me to this cell' was the sheer joy and sense of accomplishment in watching people knocked down in their prime; frightened to death by fear in its most natural state: pure and uninterrupted, created by me and me alone in the form of a toxicant or fear inducer that I came up with myself. And of course, my motives are occasionally as simple as revenge on an old 'friend', or someone who decided that they wanted to get on my bad side." The honest truth that usually had the doctors staring, wide eyed at him, wishing they could run out the door and never come back, but she simply wrote his response on the paper with what looked like a small smile tugging at the ends of her lips. "And of course, my childhood played into my initial interest in fear; having my grandmother torture me, my mother care nothing for me and my father test his experiments on me. There was also the factor that everyone at my high school picked on me, and I got fired from the college I worked for, for firing a gun in the class room, and-" he cut himself off. Why was he telling her all of this? He didn't tell anyone about his childhood, yet there he was; giving her the basic outline of his entire life.

"Well, that's understandable I suppose." She nodded as she looked back up at him, the small smile seeming to grow slightly. "Actually quite interesting."

"What, aren't you going to do what all of the doctors do and tell me how sorry you are for me?" He sneered, trying to count all of the times people had pitied him for his past. He hated pity.

"No. I've dealt with worse and I'm not in an Asylum's cell. It was your choice to do what you did and you'll just have to live with it." She shrugged passively, flipping to the next page in her pile. Dr. Crane couldn't believe it: she had done what no one had ever done before: earned his respect. She was blunt and pitiless just like him and he couldn't be more thrilled.

"Yes, I suppose so." He wasn't about to let his emotions show through his usually indifferent stare, as difficult as it was. "Anyway, while we're on the topic of motivations, what made you decide to become a psychiatrist, Ms. Stark?" This would be her real test to see if she was worthy of his respect. And he found himself hoping she would pass. All of the doctors would give him the same answer: 'I genuinely want to help people' that's great, but if every psychiatrist out there made a difference, the world would be free of maniacs; it just didn't happen and was quite frankly very pathetic.

"It's Dr. Stark, thank you very much. And if you must know, I decided to go into this field to find out how the mind works. To figure out what makes people do what they do, and how to use it for my own benefit. You know just as well as I do that if you can manipulate and control the mind, you can control everything. I could go far." The smile on her face grew into a huge grin, and the distinct sparkle in her eye told him she wasn't kidding in the slightest.

"Well, Dr. Stark, I think we'll get along just fine." He couldn't hold back a small smile when it threatened to creep onto his lips. "We have much in common. I don't find that that happens often." She nodded, taken slightly aback when he didn't look even a little concerned at what she had just confessed to him.

"It surely doesn't happen often to me either." She sat there pensively for a moment, as if considering whether or not to say what she was thinking, and then continued slowly, unsurely. "Why exactly did every last one of the Asylum's psychiatrists refuse to work with you through your rehabilitation?" he sighed lightly, leaning in closer and looked her straight in the eye.

"Because they know how bad of a choice it is to volunteer to work with me." He caught the first glimpse of fear in her eyes and snickered softly. "But I suppose you'll find that out for yourself soon enough."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Saphira shivered as she neared Crane's cell. _What exactly did he mean yesterday by 'you'll find out soon enough'? _She knew all too well what he was capable of from talking with the other doctors after her first encounter with Crane. _Fascinating work until it's used on you I suppose. _She opened the door and stepped inside, mustering all of her courage and putting on a brave, happy face.

"Hello, Dr. Crane. How are you doing today?" He smiled politely back at her, almost enjoying her company since she was the only one he could scare anymore; and he was going to make absolutely sure he did. So what if she was different from the other doctors? That wouldn't stop him from destroying her completely. He had made that decision as he laid awake in his ridiculously uncomfortable bed last night.

"Fine, thank you." She sat across the table from him and opened her briefcase, repeating the same routine as yesterday; only this time, Crane had a plan. "So, what will we be talking about today?" he tried to sound as passive as possible, not wanting to pique her curiosity.

"Well, I was thinking about that, and I figured before I could truly help you recover, we'd need to know each other a bit better. That way I know how your mind works and what's corrupting it, and you trust me more. Winning all around, right?" _The perfect way to begin._ He smiled inwardly. _It's almost as if she knows what I've got planned and decided to go along with it._

"Sure. We can try whatever you please, Dr. Stark, but how do you plan to do that?" she looked up and met his gaze, shrugging lightly.

"Whatever methods you would like to try; you say what and I'll make it happen." That wasn't her brightest idea, but her intentions seemed good.

"Well, I would love to get out of this cell for a little while…" he knew exactly what she would say, but he was merely planting the seed in her brain, and it wouldn't take too long to grow.

"No can do, Doctor. You know what my boss said about you leaving the cell, and I can't cross him."

"Just think of it as a 'reward for doing well today'. That is, if I choose to live up to that." She seemed pensive for a moment, before she finally nodded.

"I'll consider it, but for now let's stick to business." Crane watched as she nervously flipped through the papers she had had yesterday and finally decided on a page. "So, Dr. Crane, what are some things you enjoy doing?" she knew it was a stupid question the minute she had spoken it, but it was too late to take it back now.

"I think you know just as well as I do, Dr. Stark, but if it helps you sleep at night, I enjoy reading and working on my toxin." The cleaned up version of his favorite activities would suffice for the moment.

"Ah, and what kind of books do you like to read?" she seemed very eager to talk about something other than the gas and it's unfortunate victims, knowing that she may become one of them one day.

"All sorts of different kinds, I suppose. Anything but romance." He grimaced at the thought of sitting down, reading a gushy love story about some cheesy guy and his annoying girlfriend doing absolutely nothing productive. _How entertaining..._ "And you?"

"Well, I like adventure… and sci-fi. I really like sci-fi." She nodded enthusiastically, shooting him a broad smile. "But my favorite would have to be a spine chilling horror story." Crane returned her smile and stood up from his chair. _She wanted a horror story? Well she'd get one soon, and guess who would get to be the star!_ "Where do you think you're going?" she stood up as well, ready to stop him at all costs from whatever he was about to do.

"I'm going to the Asylum's library. There's a book there I think you'd really enjoy. Of course, only if you'd be willing to take me there." He began walking towards the door and rested his hand on the knob. "Well?"

"I believe I just told you that there was no leaving this room." She met him at the door and gently pushed his hand off of the knob. "But it would be wrong to deprive a smart man from his books; I'm sure we could make an exception." She grabbed the knob herself and opened the door slowly, allowing him to pass through before her. "Just make sure you stay by me the whole time, I don't need to get fired for this." He nodded as he walked casually through the halls, not caring to speak but wanting to show that he had heard her.

After a few minutes of browsing through the books, they had checked out and sat down at one of the library's tables, sorting through the books to see whose was whose.

"The ending was horrid. I never wanted to read another book ever again after that. Until of course I found out there was a next book, then I HAD to get it. I even spent twenty dollars on the hard cover version." She laughed, showing him the series she had picked out for him. "Totally worth it though." They had been talking and even laughing a little for about fifteen minutes, when he finally decided he had warmed up to her enough to go along with the next step of his plan. _Oh, but I'm really enjoying myself._ He sighed heavily and looked down. _But this was my plan, and there's no room for any hesitation… as much as I would love to stay here and talk with her. _He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this conflicted. _Just do it._

"Well I suppose it's worth a shot then, and I'll have plenty of free time to read it." It was time, and Dr. Crane knew it. It was now or never. "So, what do you think about letting me go and take a nice walk now? We could get some fresh air and I know a great place to just sit and read." She sighed, knowing what the smart thing to do was and what she actually WANTED to do.

"Well... maybe just this once…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

So, what do you guys think so far? Good? Bad? In between there somewhere? Anyway, here's chapter three and it's kind of REALLY out of character for a certain Jonathan Crane, but I think it turned out pretty well. Plus, no one acts how they usually do around the person they love; they're all nice and lovey dovey and you know… stuff. :3

"It's so pretty! How did you find this place?" Saphira gushed as she looked across the sparkling blue pond and the birds and flowers that surrounded it.

"Well it wasn't hard. My house_ is _right over there." Crane pointed towards a small, beat up house just a short walk away from them. "It's not much, but it's close to the Asylum and far away from the center of Gotham. No one even knows this part of town exists." Her gaze never left the pond, as she almost seemed mesmerized by it and Crane knew if he would slip away; as according to his plan, now would be the perfect time.

_I can't leave her. I could just make a break for it right now; she's not even watching me, but I can't bring myself to go. What's happening to me? _He soon found that he was mesmerized too, but by something much stranger, and his cheeks turned red as he finally realized why he couldn't look away. _I can't be in love with her._ But he couldn't deny the truth; she was all he could think about since they had first met. How her blue eyes always seemed to sparkle, and when she had laughed earlier today; he couldn't remember ever hearing such a beautiful sound. Just hearing her voice could put him in a trance. _Maybe I'll wait just a little bit longer. _The thought gave him some slight form of reassurance and he swore to himself that he would follow through.

"Thank you for showing me this place." She finally turned to look at him and his breath caught in his throat.

_What are you, a love struck teenage girl? _He scolded himself silently. _Because that's how you're acting right now. _

"Anytime." He nodded, silently cursing as his voice cracked. _Get it together. _"So, when do we have to get back?"

"Well, we've got some time, we just need to get back before anyone notices you're gone, and the guard won't be checking up on you for another hour." She shifted closer to him, and sparks shot through his entire body as her knee touched his. "So you can do whatever you'd like to until then." He simply nodded, not caring to have his voice crack again, as that was just embarrassing. "What _would _you like to do, Dr. Crane? You don't exactly come across as the kind of guy who just wants to get out so that he can sit on a bench and stare at a pond." He shot her a nervous smile and sighed.

"Just needed some fresh air I suppose." She didn't seem to buy it at all and gave him a look.

"Right, sure. Look, we both know that in about fifty five minutes, you're going to wait until I'm not looking, and then you're going to try to escape. And to be honest, I won't stop you. Go right ahead if you really think you can get away with it." The glint in her eye told him that she was keeping something from him, but he wasn't about to ask her what it was.

"So if you knew what I was planning this whole time, why would you let me get this far?"

"Because I knew that until I did, this would be all you would talk about; I was simply saving time." She shrugged passively. "Can we just enjoy our last hour together?" _Enjoy _our_ last hour _together_? _Crane was embarrassed at how upset that made him. _Will this be the last time I ever see her?_

"Sure, and I know just what we can do." he stood from the bench and held out his hand to her, which she happily took ahold of, and together, they left the pond behind.

"I've never been to a fair before in my life." Saphira smiled as she looked down at the people below them. "Although, I've always loved trying new things."

"I'd be lying if I said I've ever been to one either. It just seemed like a good place to go." What he _wasn't _about to admit was the fact he hated heights, and therefore was EXTREMELY uncomfortable sitting on the Ferris wheel.

"Well, it is so… good choice_." She must be thinking really hard about something. _Crane thought, noting that she had a kind of vacant look on her face and a wispy tone.

"You alright?" he rested his hand on her shoulder and looked down at her.

"Oh, fine! Just fine. Couldn't be better!" her head shot up and she took a sharp breath in when she found that his face was a mere inch away from hers.

"Thinking about something?" she blushed slightly and nodded her head, looking over at Crane's hand on her shoulder. "Is it anything you want to talk about? You seemed really lost in thought there." The urge to lean in and close that inch of space between them became more and more unbearable by the second, and Crane couldn't help but consider it.

"Umm, nothing that you would care to hear, Dr. Crane." He reached his hand up from her shoulder and gently rested it under her chin, pulling her face up to meet his directly.

"I care about anything that has to do with you, Saphira. Don't you understand that? I would've left you behind at the pond if I didn't care about you." He could feel her soft breath against his face and how swiftly it was picking up pace. _Am I really making her that nervous?_ He thought about pulling away, but found that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't do it.

"R-really?" she murmured, watching him closely with hopeful eyes. "Or is this just one of your mind games?" he began to absentmindedly trace the bottom of her lip with his finger and smiled warmly at her.

"Do I seem like the kind of person that would fake having feelings for someone? I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be my finest plan of attack."

"So… you're serious about this then?" she began to beam and he couldn't help but chuckle softly; something he couldn't recall doing ever in his life.

"I haven't ever been this serious about anything before; Saphira, I think I-"


	4. Chapter 4

"Crane!" Dr. Crane spun around as someone from below them shouted out his name.

_oh, not now_... the batman always did have a talent for disruption, but this was just going a little too far.

"I know you're up there! Now let Saphira go." His gaze shot back to Saphira, who smiled nervously at him.

"You know that freak?" He sounded angrier than intended, but he couldn't help it.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you don't like him much." Her pathetic attempt at a laugh was cut off as the Ferris wheel lurched to a stop and it was their turn to get off. "What could've possibly happened between you two exactly?" Not feeling the need to explain himself, Crane grabbed Saphira's hand and ran into the fair's funhouse; because really? Could you think of a better place to scare someone?

"Nothing of importance at this moment in time." He shrugged it off and hid the both of them behind one of the mirrors; the only place there was that you could possibly hide.

"Okay, fair enough. But one thing that IS important at the moment; what were you going to say before?" His one chance to tell her, and in comes Batman. He held his finger to his lips in a silent 'be quiet' and sighed inwardly.  
_  
I should've assumed something like this would happen, just another reason to hate Batman._

"Where are you Crane?" He watched as Batman scouted out the funhouse's mirror room. It was quite obvious that he was extremely nervous, and thus, Crane could strike at any time. He silently slipped out from behind the mirror and towards Batman, pulling out the syringe of fear toxin he had slipped into his pocket a few days ago.  
_  
this'll be too easy _it was almost laughable really; the great and powerful Batman, going down without the slightest bit of a fight in a pathetic attempt of a funhouse at a cheap fair.

"I'm right here. Maybe you should get your eyes checked; you're becoming as blind as a bat. Suits you though." Batman spun around to face him and Crane plunged the needle into the bit of skin that showed between the bottom of his mask and the top of his suit.

"Very funny Cra..." Before he could even finish his sentence, Batman fell to the floor in a squirming pile of black cloth. Some superhero, huh?

"Thank you very much; I do love trying new things." He stood over Batman with a hollow sense of triumph and Saphira ran over to his side.

"Dr. Crane, what did you do?" She gasped, crouching down next to Batman.

"Just a bit of pest control."

"Must be a very strong hallucinogenic." She mused, watching closely as Batman struggled. "As wrong as it is, I'm impressed."

"Thank you very much, Dr. Stark." He felt relief wash over him.

_she doesn't love him... But what IS their relationship then?_ it was nothing to be concerned about if she could care less that he was dying on the floor.

"Anytime. But when does it wear off?" She looked up at him expectantly and he took in a sharp breath.

_so she does love him? Or just a friendly... Oh forget it._

"Soon, but in the meantime, lets go somewhere less... funhouse-y." He began walking at a swift pace out of the funhouse. "There's plenty more to see, we don't need to sit around and wait for the Batman to recover." He silently prayed that she wouldn't question him as she followed him out of the building and back through the fair.

"Alright, so are you going to answer my other questions now?"

"No." She looked just about ready to strangle Crane, and he couldn't help but smirk. "Fine; I'll make you a deal. You answer my question, and I'll answer one of yours."

"Deal. What's your question?" He couldn't tell if she was curious or confused as to what he could possibly care to ask her.

"How do you two know each other?" He wasted absolutely no time to get the question out, wanting it to be answered before Batman had time to butt in.

"He, Rachel and I used to play together as kids... Why?" He blushed slightly, not wanting to be figured out_. I really am having an off day, huh?_

"Just curious... So no, um, romantic interest involved then?" How awkward.

_could've worded that better. _he shrugged,_ what does it matter? It'll all be forgotten once I answer her question. Bigger fish to fry._

"No... Not that I'm aware of. Now you answer my question; what were you going to say?" The moment of truth, and this time, Crane would make sure he wouldn't be interrupted.

"What I was going to say was..." He turned to face her and took her hands in his, smiling warmly at her.

_no interruptions yet._

"Aww how cute." A sarcastic voice sneered from behind Crane. "And let me guess; you're just doing this because you knew why I was looking for Saphira, right? Just to keep her from me." Dr. Crane couldn't remember a time in his life where he had ever been this angry.

"I thought I killed you." He nearly spat.

"You thought wrong, doctor." He could just imagine the passive look on the Batman's face.

_oh, how I want to strangle you right now..._

"I can change that." He pulled the knife he had smuggled from the Asylum out of his pocket and prepared to face Batman, pausing as he began to speak.

"Saphira, I've got a question for you too." Batman began slowly, a mild purr of satisfaction lacing his tone.

"Now?" Saphira voiced Crane's thoughts, with a curious glance at the doctor.

"It's the best time, yes." Saphira nodded her head slowly, murmuring what sounded like an 'alright', and Batman wasted no time in asking away. "Would you like to go on a date with me?" Crane's jaw dropped to the floor and he honestly thought he might explode then and there.

"Wh-what?" She stammered, looking straight at Crane as if to say 'what do I do?'

"Will you-"

"She heard you the first time you idiot!" Dr. Crane shouted, spinning around to face Batman, this time not ceasing to do what he should've ten minutes ago; stabbing him right in the chest. Batman staggered backwards and let out a sharp gasp as he fell onto one of the fair's benches.

"You're just full of tricks today, aren't you Crane? What are you going to try next?"

"I don't need to try anything more, because if my judgement is correct, I just stabbed you straight in the heart." Batman may have been wearing a mask, but Crane could still tell he was smiling underneath.

"Well you must have something seriously clouding your thoughts, because you just tried to stab through a bulletproof batsuit. I expected more from you, Dr. Crane, I really did." His last sentence almost came out as a sigh, and Crane fumed.

"What's 'clouding my thoughts' is the one important thing to me; the only thing that's ever mattered in my life, and that's the thing you're trying to steal away from me!" He could feel his face turning red, and he wasn't sure whether it was from anger or embarrassment. "Are you trying to make sure I stay a villain forever? Because Saphira was my one ray of hope for redemption; the one thing that might be able to turn me away from killing people for a living." He turned to Saphira, who's face had turned as red as his.

"Really?" She murmured, taking a few steps towards him.

"What do you think I've been trying to tell you this whole time? When I'm with you, I'm happier than any other person on the planet, and I've never even been happy before." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Saphira?"

"Yes?" She looked so hopeful, like he was some great famous person who was about to propose to her.

-why would she want to be with me? What if she chooses Batman?- but he knew he had to tell her; to TRY to win her over, because he had never wanted something so badly.

"I'm in love with you."


End file.
